MULBERRY GROVE - Mark Hendricks and Eddie Siemer went one-on-one for 13 rounds Wednesday during the Bond-Fayette-Effingham Counties Spelling Bee at Mulberry Grove Elementary School.

The two spellers battled through such words as "pochismo," "erudite," "empanada" and "kahuna" before Mark emerged as the champion by correctly spelling "greengage."

Mark, an eighth-grader from Altamont Lutheran School, said afterward that his mom helped by pronouncing words for him. His mother, Mary Hendricks, added that her son is a good reader and that he studied hard for the bee.

This was Mark's second year in the Bond-Fayette-Effingham Bee, and he said that he felt his experience at this level helped him prepare. It will also be his second year to advance to the Decatur regional bee at 9 a.m. Saturday, March 15, in Kaeuper Hall at Millikin University.

Eddie, a sixth-grader at Teutopolis Grade School, also participated in the Bond-Fayette-Effingham bee for the second time. Eddie said that he used the myspellit.com list to prepare for the bee and that he looked up definitions in the Merriam-Webster Dictionary. He credited his father, Marty Siemer, with helping him prepare.

Three other spellers from the Bond-Fayette-Effingham Bee also advance to the Decatur regional bee. Tied for third place were Mitchell Wortman and Mark Niebrugge. Wortman is in eighth grade at St. Anthony Grade School in Effingham. This is Mitchell's second year advancing to Decatur. He went out when he misspelled "cringle." Niebrugge is an eighth-grader at Teutopolis Junior High and was eliminated on the word "oratorio." In fifth was Kort Branscome, an eighth-grader at Greenville Junior High, who went out of the bee when he misspelled "insidious."

The 17-round bee featured 22 spellers. The bee coordinator was Jimmie Rice, principal of Mulberry Grove Elementary School, which has hosted the three-county bee for 21 years.